


Never Say Goodbye

by TCRegan



Category: Dragon Age II
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-16
Updated: 2014-06-16
Packaged: 2018-02-04 23:04:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1796557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TCRegan/pseuds/TCRegan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Karl is the one thing that makes life at the Circle tolerable for Anders.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Never Say Goodbye

He was falling a great distance. His stomach twisting and turning, the air rushing past him. Suddenly his vision cleared and he saw it below him, like a speck of dust in the night sky. Thousands of miles below, sitting in the middle of Lake Calenhad, the tower. His prison. He spread his arms, willing himself to fly. If this was a dream, it was a terrible one. He fell faster, the chill air freezing him to his core. The demon had spoken to him, whispered about his failing, the templars, the Circle. He wouldn't embrace death. 

But it wasn't his choice to make. The tower was closer now and growing ever closer. A thousand sharp spikes pierced his skin, blades of ice embedding themselves. He curled instinctively, or tried to as the air pressure kept him from seeking comfort. Two hundred feet. One hundred feet. Fifty.

"Anders!"

The moment of impact he heard his mentor's voice calling for him. He jerked awake, suddenly aware of how hot he was. The change in temperature made him ill and, sweating, he turned and vomited onto the floor. Heaving, he felt a warm weight settle next to him on the bed, a comforting hand on his shoulder, then his back, rubbing gently. It was soft and cool against his fevered skin and he shivered.

"Karl?"

The Senior Enchanter shushed him. With a wave of his hand the mess on the floor cleared along with the stench. He pressed a cup of cold water into Anders' hand and helped him rinse his mouth, all the while keeping a hand on his back.

"You were having a nightmare."

Anders wrapped his arms tightly around himself, thigh pressed against Karl's. In the dimness, he could see his room. No longer in the apprentice quarters, he had his own space, a large single bed, his own washing area. Even though the room was left open with no door, he'd been allowed to put up a divider for privacy. Two days prior, he'd moved his things in and found that while he appreciated the extra space, the solitude in comparison to the apprentice quarters was unnerving.

"How did you know?"

"It's not unusual to have nightmares after your Harrowing. But you," Karl said, brushing Anders' hair from his eyes, "are more sensitive than the others. You were in the Fade longer than most."

"You don't need to remind me," Anders said, wiping his hands on his linen pants. The nightmare was fading slowly but he would always have his memories of that place. He had no desire to return to the Fade and sleeping had become a chore. "So you sought me out?"

"I was walking the halls. I've been having trouble sleeping as well lately, and I thought I'd come by to see if you were awake. I'm glad I did."

Anders turned into Karl's touch, nuzzling his neck. They'd been lovers secretly for almost a year. Though Karl initially protested the relationship, Anders never gave in. The crush he harbored on his mentor all but consumed him. Such relationships weren't strictly forbidden, but highly frowned upon. Karl was a respected enchanter. Within his fraternity, he was decided to have the most promising shot at becoming First Enchanter after Irving. Though Anders didn't want to jeopardize Karl's prospects with any kind of scandal, he found it difficult to stop thinking about him.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Karl asked, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

"No. I really don't. It was a nightmare, and it's over."

"All right then, love," he whispered.

Anders raised his chin and accepted the soft kiss, melting into the touch. He pressed Karl back, frowning when his lover resisted.

"I don't think that's the best idea right now," Karl explained. "Oh please don't give me those eyes."

Anders looked away. "Is this the part where you tell me that we can't go on like this? Because I'm not in the mood to have another one of those discussions. We said our goodbyes already, before I stepped into the Fade. Now we don't have to worry about that any longer."

Karl took his hand, entwining his fingers with Anders'. "I'm afraid it's a bit more complicated."

"How complicated it is? You love me. I love you. We just need to move onto the naked parts of that arrangement now."

"I'm leaving Ferelden."

Anders felt as if a bucket of ice water was dumped over his head. "What? You're leaving? Are you… are you running away? I can come with you. I know how to escape."

Karl chuckled, but stopped just as quickly. "I know. But no. I'm being reassigned to a city in the Free Marches to aid with their Circle's education."

"So I can come with you," Anders said. "I can help teach. I can pack right now." He made to get up.

Karl grabbed his wrists and pulled him back to the bed. "Listen. I think that Greagoir might have found out about us. There's no way he'd let you leave."

"Sod Greagoir. It's not his choice! I'll appeal to Irving in the morning." 

There was a hint of desperation in his voice. He looked at Karl earnestly. This couldn't be happening. They wouldn't – couldn't – do this to him. Just when things in the Tower were getting tolerable. Just when he thought he had a reason to stay. Karl was brilliant, charming. A damn fine kisser and an amazing lover. He was everything Anders had wanted in a friend. If he was going to be stuck in this prison, at least he had Karl. And now Greagoir was snatching the last vestige of happiness away from him.

"It won't do any good."

"But I have to try!"

Karl sighed. "Yes. I know." He pulled Anders close once more, wrapping his arms around him tightly.

Anders pressed his face against Karl's chest, clinging. They wouldn't take him away. He would petition the First Enchanter, make him see reason. Karl was the best educator they had. The apprentices needed someone like him. Someone good and kind and loving. With the ability to make the best out of a horrible, awful situation. He closed his eyes, feeling Karl's fingers run through his hair, soothing him.

"Stay with me tonight."

Karl paused, and Anders waited for the protest, but it never came. "I will." He toed off his slippers and laid down with Anders, holding him close, pulling up the covers. 

Anders buried his face in the crook of Karl's neck, arm thrown over his chest. "They won't have you," he said, his voice muffled.

"We'll still be able to write one another," Karl promised.

"It won't happen. You're not leaving."

Karl fell silent, and Anders would have counted it as a victory. Many times he'd caused his mentor to become exasperated enough to drop the argument. But Anders feared this wasn't quite the same. Shivering despite the warm body heat and heavy covers, he fell into a troubled sleep.

They wouldn't take Karl. Not if he had anything to say about it.


End file.
